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Large scale document archive

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's secret files (Lawson)

In 2012 www.margaretthatcher.org uncovered through an FOI request the existence of a vast cache of secret papers stored at H.M. Treasury, some 4,850 files from the Private Office of successive Chancellors (and Chief Secretaries) between 1979 and 1997.

The bulk of Nigel Lawson's files, 1983-89, were released at TNA in early 2018 and have been digitised; they are being uploaded progressively and many are now available.

Below are links to the downloadable files in numerical order. The original file names have been modified to convey content more readily. An average file has around 100 pages.

Showing items 301 - 350 of 1089

File name Title Begins Ends Release date Any docs withheld? Classification Pages
PDF T640/414 International (World financial markets 1987-1988) 87 Nov 12 87 Dec 7 2014 Secret 144
PDF T640/416 Economy (New Employment Bill and further measures to cut unemployment) 87 Feb 6 87 Jul 13 2014 Confidential 162
PDF T640/417 Economy (New Employment Bill and further measures to cut unemployment) 87 Jul 14 87 Oct 15 2014 Confidential 166
PDF T640/418 Public spending (Negotiations over teachers' pay and conditions) 87 Apr 30 87 Oct 19 2014 Confidential 253
PDF T640/420 Budget (Budget briefing 1987) 87 Mar 17 87 Mar 17 2014 Secret 294
PDF T640/421 Budget (Budget briefing 1987) 87 Mar 17 87 Mar 27 2014 Secret 271
PDF T640/422 Budget (Possible areas in which to introduce new taxes) 85 Jun 11 87 Jul 9 2014 Confidential 118
PDF T640/424 Monetary policy (The Royal Mint: future coinage options) 87 Apr 9 87 May 7 2014 Confidential 138
PDF T640/427 Monetary policy (The Royal Mint: designs for the gold Britannia coin. With photographs) 87 Jul 31 87 Jul 31 2014 Unclassified 20163
PDF T640/428 Monetary policy (The Royal Mint: Annual Report 1987) 87 Aug 1 87 Aug 1 2014 Unclassified 34
PDF T640/429 Public expenditure (Draft paper for Public Expenditure Cabinet) 86 Jul 15 87 Jul 16 2014 Personal & Secret 163
PDF T640/430 Public expenditure (Draft paper for Public Expenditure Cabinet) 87 Jul 17 87 Jul 22 2014 Secret 56
PDF T640/431 International (Republic of Zaire: proposal for refinancing external debt) 87 Jul 7 87 Jul 17 2014 Unclassified 98
PDF T640/432 Economy (Trade figures 1987) 87 Jan 16 87 Apr 24 2014 Secret 118
PDF T640/433 Economy (Trade figures 1987) 87 Apr 28 87 Dec 2 2014 Personal & Secret 82
PDF T640/434 Economy (Chairmanship of the Manpower Services Commission) 87 Aug 14 87 Oct 21 2014 Confidential 26
PDF T640/435 Public spending (Appointment of Secretary and Comptroller-General of the National Debt Commissioners) 87 Jun 16 87 Jul 24 2014 Confidential 15
PDF T640/436 Budget (Economic forecasting as policy background to the 1987 Budget) 86 Dec 10 87 Jan 6 2014 Secret 134
PDF T640/437 Budget (Economic forecasting as policy background to the 1987 Budget) 87 Jan 7 87 Jan 9 2014 Secret 95
PDF T640/439 Budget (Chevening meeting, 10-11 January 1987) 87 Jan 6 87 Jan 13 2014 Secret 109
PDF T640/440 Europe (Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meetings 1987) 87 Jan 5 87 Jul 3 2014 Confidential 189
PDF T640/441 Europe (Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meetings 1987) 87 Jul 7 87 Sep 14 2014 Secret 213
PDF T640/442 Europe (Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meetings 1987) 87 Oct 5 87 Nov 12 2014 Confidential 307
PDF T640/443 Europe (Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meetings 1987) 87 Nov 13 87 Nov 13 2014 Secret 230
PDF T640/444 Europe (Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meetings 1987) 87 Nov 16 87 Dec 10 2014 Confidential 156
PDF T640/445 International (Cable and Wireless Communications PLC shareholdings) 87 Mar 4 87 Sep 3 2014 Confidential 21
PDF T640/446 Economy (Retail Price Index (RPI) 1987) 86 Oct 20 87 Sep 16 2014 Personal & Secret 173
PDF T640/447 Economy (Proposals for wider share ownership) 86 Oct 1 87 Jul 22 2014 Secret 138
PDF T640/448 Economy (Proposals for wider share ownership) 87 Jul 23 87 Sep 14 2014 Secret 110
PDF T640/449 Economy (Proposals for wider share ownership) 87 Sep 15 87 Dec 14 2014 Confidential 172
PDF T640/450 Economy (Short-term prospects for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator) 87 Jul 9 87 Sep 8 2014 Secret 31
PDF T640/451 Economy (Economic forecasts and assumptions) 87 Oct 9 87 Oct 15 2014 Secret 161
PDF T640/453 Economy (National and Local Government Officers Association report on Sex Equality in Pension Schemes) 86 Mar 19 87 Jan 19 2014 Unclassified 30
PDF T640/455 International (Proposals to expand Group of Ten (G10) membership to include Austria, Australia and Spain) 86 Dec 31 87 Nov 11 2014 Confidential 124
PDF T640/456 Monetary policy (Demand for sterling £M3) 86 Jul 4 87 Apr 1 2014 Secret 40
PDF T640/457 Monetary policy (Losses to gilt-edged market markers) 87 Sep 22 87 Nov 19 2014 Secret 20
PDF T640/459 Monetary policy (Interest rates) 86 Jan 7 87 Dec 4 2014 Secret 75
PDF T640/460 Monetary policy (Monthly monetary assessments) 87 Jun 30 87 Oct 19 2014 Personal & Secret 240
PDF T640/461 Monetary policy (Monthly monetary assessments) 87 Oct 20 87 Nov 19 2014 Personal & Secret 240
PDF T640/462 Monetary policy (Monthly monetary assessments) 87 Nov 26 87 Dec 24 2014 Personal & Secret 203
PDF T640/464 Public spending (Chancellor of the Exchequer's papers on Civil Service management and pay issues) 87 Jan 23 87 Jun 19 2014 Confidential 142
PDF T640/465 Public spending (Chancellor of the Exchequer's papers on Civil Service management and pay issues) 87 Jun 19 87 Jul 27 2014 Confidential 136
PDF T640/466 Public spending (Chancellor of the Exchequer's papers on funding and gilts) 87 Sep 2 87 Dec 14 2014 Personal & Confidential 127
PDF T640/467 Public spending (Defence expenditure) 87 Apr 2 87 Jul 27 2014 Personal & Secret 42
PDF T640/468 Economy (Supply side measures) 87 Jul 23 87 Oct 12 2014 Secret 56
PDF T640/470 Budget (Tax treatment of forestry) 86 Oct 21 87 Nov 24 2014 Personal & Secret 164
PDF T640/471 Economy (The television broadcasting industry) 87 Aug 3 87 Nov 30 2014 Personal & Confidential 131
PDF T640/472 Civil Servive (Chancellor of the Exchequer's papers on Next Steps agencies) 87 Feb 4 87 Oct 15 2014 Confidential 165
PDF T640/473 Public spending (Review of student support) 87 Jul 24 87 Nov 23 2014 Confidential 134
PDF T640/474 Public spending (Chancellor of the Exchequer's papers on public expenditure programmes and the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement (PSBR)) 87 Jan 5 87 May 13 2014 Secret 212